Ridicuously, Head Over Heels
by vintage88
Summary: Tough and witty, you don't want to get on her bad side.So when she falls for a boy,no one can believe it.  That's right,Spinelli has a crush on a boy and doesn't know how to deal with it until she finds herself in trouble... R&R!  rated TM
1. Chapter 1

Chapter1

She looked like a toad. Mixed with a skunk. Yet was as friendly as a cactus.

Ms. McGraw stared down at the new grade nines with her beady eyes. Spinelli tried not to turn to TJ and laugh at the old teacher, but couldn't glance at him and giggle under her breath. Ms. McGraw must have been at least 2000 years old; her cheeks sagged, her tiny eyes had faded to grey, her lips had been replaced by prunes, and her hair was died black with one white streak down the centre. Plus, she had a million wrinkles.

"She looks like something out of a movie," Gus, who was on the other side of Spinelli, whispered. Ms. McGraw snapped her head towards him and glared, making Spinelli smirk.

"Welcome to 5th Street High School," she said coldly, "I am your vice principle, Ms. McGraw. Mr. Van der Waite, your principle, is in India on a trip for the next month, so teachers will send you to me if there are problems."

"Dammit," Vince muttered under his breath, "so we're stuck with this old hag for the start of high school?"

"So it would seem," TJ responded gloomily.

Ms. McGraw continued. "You are now high school students and I expect you to act like high school students, to act your age, be mature and help yourself around school. But because that is highly unlikely, you'll be pleased to know that Mr. Van der Waite wanted everyone to have a_ buddy _for the first week. They will help you around, show you to your classes and all that jazz."

A ripple ran through the crowd of new students. "_Buddy?_" Gretchen repeated the word as if it horrified, "Does she think we're mere kindergardners?"

"No need to be offended," Mikey said, "Ms. McGraw and Mr. Van der Waite are only trying to do their part in making sure us new students have a stupendous first week at high school without bewilderment, troubles or the horrendous feeling of being lost in the never ending hallways –"

"Hey," Ms. McGraw snapped, pointed a boney finger at Mikey, "you, the big kid in the back. When I say no talking I mean no talking!"

"Did she even say no talking?" Gus couldn't help but asking as he was shot with another McGraw glare.

"Alright!" the vice principle barked, "You may enter!"

At this, the door into the gymnasium burst and a number of grade 10s walked in, each holding a slip of paper in their hands. They were casually talking amongst each other, each looking slightly irritated that they had been chosen to be a buddy.

"Now," growled Ms. McGraw, "when your buddy calls out your name, you will approach them and they will take you to your next class. Understood?!"

The new students nodded their head meekly. "This teacher has lost her head," Spinelli shook her head in disbelief as she kicked the ground with her oversized boot, "It's bad enough that it's the first day of school, but the fact that she's pairing us with buddy's –"

"Vince LaSalle!" a voice suddenly echoed across the gym, drowning Spinelli out.

Vince winced as he caught sight of his buddy: an oversized redhead with an upturned nose and bright blue eyes. "I'll see you guys at lunch," Vince said with disappointment in his voice as Gus had to give him a little push.

One by one, grand 9ers were called up by their buddies, disappearing through the gym doors. Vince was the first of the gang to leave, followed by Gretchen, Gus, and Mikey, leaving TJ and Spinelli as one of the final few.

"Hey, is that Swinger Girl?" Spinelli nudged TJ as a girl with blonde pigtails approached her buddy.

"Yeah," TJ nodded, "she's all angry though because there are no swings here. This school doesn't even have a play structure… but I guess that comes when you enter high school."

"Dammit TJ, I miss our old school."

"No kidding." He hesitated. "Hey, maybe if we're lucky we won't have buddies. Then we can just show ourselves around school." But as soon as the words left his mouth, his name was called. A short, gorgeous brunette with brown almond shaped eyes smiled as he approached her, obviously pleased that she hadn't been stuck with a complete loser.

TJ seemed just as pleased to be buddies with whoever the brunette was. Spinelli scowled and folded her arms across her stomach, feeling awfully lonely as she stood by herself until she was the last grade 9 in the gym.

"That leaves you with Chuck," Ms. McGraw sighed, and for a minute Spinelli thought that the old woman actually looked sorry. It soon passed, and without another word Ms. McGraw walked out of the gym.

Trying not to groan, Spinelli walked towards her buddy. Chuck, she thought bitterly as her boots echoed loudly, what kind of name is Chuck? She stopped right in front of him, and for a brief moment, they stood in silence as they took each other in.

Chuck was tall with an athletic build. His hands were stuffed into his jean pockets and his chaotic blonde hair fell into his dark brown eyes. He looked bored standing there, probably wishing it was still summer, staring down at Spinelli.

She was short, her dark brown hair tied into two messy braids. She wore her striped tights and her oversized lucky jacket covered most of her dress. Fiddling with the rim of her hat, she glanced up at Chuck, her large eyes glaring at him.

"Look Chuck," she finally spoke, "thanks so much for volunteering to be a buddy or whatever, but I can find myself around the school. So what if I'm a little late for class, it's the first day. How much can I miss?"

Chuck shrugged. "That would be fine with me, but I need Ms. McGraw to see me helping you around to get extra credit."

"Extra credit?" Spinelli arched one eyebrow. _Great, I'm stuck with some extra credit geek!_, "Well I'm sorry to say that your extra credit is nothing to me. Go and do some club after school or whatever if you're so eager."

Chuck let out a laugh. "After school, are you kidding me? I already spend six to seven hours here a day. If I stayed here any longer I'd be missing my daily wrestling matches… not that you know anything about that."

Spinelli smirked. "Oh, so you immediately think I don't watch wrestling because I'm a girl, is that it?"

"Well do you?" he smirked back.

"Only enough to know that Sir Steel Fist has won the World Wrestling Championship three years in a row, but only has a 52 chance of winning this year because the new competitor Masked Man has slightly longer arms than he does."

"Does that really make a difference?"

"Well it's the only reason that people can come up with for the Masked Man's victory against Sir Steel First last night."

Chuck suddenly grinned. Spinelli could feel herself grin back. She tried to stop it, but Chuck's grin was contagious and something inside of her fluttered. "So how about showing me to my class if," she said as she stared into his almost black eyes, "since you're so eager for extra credit."

"I would be honored," Chuck winked and began talking out of the gym with Spinelli following him in an almost dream-like state.

**A/N: so there's the first chapter!! More will be coming soon. ****I'd love some R&R if anyone has anything at all to say. Thanks!**

**Vintage88**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter2

"New school, new students, new students, same crappy lunch." Gretchen rolled her eyes behind her thick rimmed glasses as she sat down across from Vince.

He shrugged. "Some things will never change, Gretch. So how's your buddy."

Now it was Gretchen's turn to shrug. "Some boy with hair that covers his eyes so teachers can't tell he's asleep in class… I don't even know his name because he would just mumble all the time."

"Can't be worse than mine; her name is Betty, and she's all about writing documentaries on how gym classes are insignificant." He rolled his eyes. "So where is everyone?"

"I ran into Gus and Mikey in the hall. They said they had a different lunch time then us."

"There are different lunch times here? Brutal…" Vince mumbled as TJ approached their table. "Hey man, how's your buddy?"

"Her name is Bridgette," TJ responded, looking slightly dazed, "sooo pretty…"

Gretchen slumped in her seat. "Well I guess we know if TJ liked his buddy or not."

"Who's pretty?"

Suddenly Spinelli was at their table, holding a tray of disgusting cafeteria food. Vince nudged his head in TJ's direction as he smirked and said, "TJ has a crush on his buddy, Bridgette."

TJ sat up. "I do not," he stumbled quickly, "you know I was only kidding."

"So when are you planning to ask her out?" Gretchen teased as she pointed her fork at him.

"I'm not going to ask her out!" TJ cried nervously.

"Relax, would you?" Spinelli sat down next to TJ, "There's nothing wrong with having a crush on your buddy."

"But I don't!"

Spinelli shrugged. "I'm just saying…"

"Saying what?" Gretchen grinned wickedly, "Do _you_ have a crush on your buddy, Spinelli? What's his name?"

"A crush on Chuck?" Spinelli cried in disbelief.

TJ made a face. "Chuck? What kind of name is _Chuck_?"

"It's the kind of name that Spinelli lo-o-o-ves." Vince pulled Spinelli's braid playfully to tease her.

"Would you guys stop being so immature?" Spinelli grumbled as she had to stop herself from punching Vince's shoulder. She wasn't sure why, but she could feel her face going hot and turning crimson.

"Relax, would you?" Gretchen repeated Spinelli's own words, "There's nothing wrong with having a crush on your buddy."

"Her buddy… crush on _what_ buddy?" TJ looked around, waiting for an answer, obviously confused. The only answer though was from the giggles shared by Gretchen and Vince who were enjoying teasing Spinelli. They had never been able to make her feel embarrassed so quickly.

"That's it," Spinelli grumbled as she stood up from the table, "I'm out."

Gretchen stopped laughing. "Oh come on Spinelli. You know we were only kidding."

"Whatever," she mumbled as she stormed off, leaving her tray on the table, suddenly not hungry. Her braids whipped her in the face but she ignored them. The door to the cafeteria closed behind her, and suddenly everything was very quiet. She was alone in the hallways.

Not liking the eerie silence, Spinelli let her boots lead her to the back doors of the school. She wasn't really aware of where she was going; all she knew was that she had to get out before any of her 'friends' decided to follow her.

If they were going to follow her…

"Spinelli?"

She was surprised to find that she wasn't alone like she had hoped. Standing only a few feet away from her was Chuck. Once again, something inside of her fluttered at the sight of him and she forgot all about Vince and Gretchen teasing her.

With Chuck were another boy and girl. The boy had dark skin and shaved head. He was just as muscular as Chuck and Spinelli wondered what sports they played. Next to him was the girl with wavy, silver blonde hair, grey eyes and lips that seemed too big for her face. Or maybe they weren't too big for her face, maybe the rest of her was just too small. After all, her cheeks did look a little hallow.

"Hey Chuck," Spinelli said, her voice raspy, "what are you doing out here?"

He hesitated before answering. "We spend all our lunches out here." Pause. "This is Brian and Sunday. Guys, this is Spinelli, my buddy. But don't worry, she's cool."

Brian smiled nodded his head in approval. "Nice. So what's up Spin?"

"Uh… not much."

Sunday didn't seem as friendly. She squinted her grey eyes at Spinelli, eyeing her suspiciously. "So what, like, are _you_ doing out here?"

Suddenly the feeling of Vince and Gretchen laughing at her filtered through her and Spinelli couldn't help but scowl. "My friends are being idiots," she growled before she could stop herself.

Chuck's face suddenly lit up and he glanced at Brian. "So, are you really pissed at them?"

Spinelli froze, not sure if she was or not. Sure, she and the gang had gotten into arguments, but she had never really considered herself so angry at them that she was, well, pissed at them. But the sound of the irritating laughter echoed in her ears, making her flare up again. "I guess," she finally answered.

Chuck glanced at Brian again, who nodded with a smile. Sunday's mouth dropped. "No, guys that's not fair. You don't her, she's going to tell. Don't be idiots now…"

"What am I going to tell?" Spinelli arched one of her eyebrows.

"Calm down, would you Sunday?" Chuck shook his head slightly.

"We were just about to try something," Brian explained, "it would probably make you feel better." He pulled out a crumpled bag from his pocket and emptied it onto his hands. Sitting in his palm were four, tiny pills.

Spinelli felt her whole body tense as she realized what it was.

"Just think of it as a mint." Chuck said as he popped one into his mouth. He then grinned at Spinelli, his beautiful, sexy grin that made Spinelli want to jump towards him and……

"Well are you going to take it or what?" Sunday snapped, "Because if you aren't I suggest you leave." She glared fiercely at Spinelli. At this, Spinelli smirked her famous, tough smirk.

"Sure," she said as she grabbed one of the pills and popped it into her own mouth. Within the next minute everything seemed… lighter. She couldn't help but smile, smile at Chuck. He was smiling back.

"Just think of it as a mint." She heard Brian's voice echo.

But all she could think of was Chuck and how gorgeous he looked leaning up against the brick wall.

-

-

-

"Guys?" TJ snapped, "What was that all about?" He had hardly understood what was going on. All he heard was Spinelli had a crush on someone, and then she had stormed off. _Did she really have a crush on someone?_

"Spinelli was just overreacting like usual," Gretchen snorted.

TJ looked to see the cafeteria door slam behind her. He could feel the bones in his legs itching to get up and run after her. "We should see if she's okay," he said slowly.

"Oh forget it," Vince told him, "she'll be fine in an hour or two. This is Spinelli we're talking about; she gets angry at the littlest things."

"I don't know guys…" TJ was still unsure.

"What are you so worried about?" Gretchen arched an eyebrow at him. She then gave him a strange look, the kind of look that girls always give someone when they think they've realized something. They always do know these _kin__ds_ of things first, don't they?

"Okay, you're right." TJ said quickly as he looked away from Gretchen, afraid of what was beginning to come over him.

"Besides," Vince said, completely clueless, "it's only lunch. It's not like she's going to do anything stupid."

_Right…_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter3

The rest of the day was nothing like Spinelli had experienced. She was just so happy and grinned at everyone. She laughed the hardest at the cheesy jokes teachers would say and didn't threaten anyone, not even the kid who spilled water on her desk. By the end of the day though, the feeling faded and Spinelli was back to being, well, Spinelli.

"So how was that?" Chuck ran up to Spinelli and playfully punched her shoulder.

"Good," Spinelli replied casually, knowing that he was talking about the _mint_. She paused. "Actually it was awesome. I don't think I've been that calm in a while."

Chuck grinned, his black eyes flashing. "So do you want some tomorrow? Brian might be able to also get us some –"

Spinelli cut him of here. "Listen Chuck, it's not that I didn't like it, but…" her voice died.

_But what?_

When the gang went to parties, Spinelli would never drink. Even Gus had gotten drunk and Vince would keep shoving drinks in her hands, not aware that they just ended up on a table. It wasn't that she didn't approve of it, she just didn't want to… it didn't feel like her.

"Come on Spin, you're not quitting out on us are you? Sunday will kill me if she finds out."

So did she not want to do drugs because she didn't drink? It didn't really make sense, but Spinelli couldn't think of it any other way.

"Chuck," she began again, but when she did she realized how close Chuck was to her. He smelt strongly of cologne that TJ would always wear; she had never liked the smell before, but it seemed better on Chuck. Everything seemed better on Chuck.

He placed his forehead on Spinelli's, eyes looking down at her lips and for a second she forgot to breath. "Are you quitting on us?" he whispered slowly and Spinelli felt her heart quicken.

"Of… o-of course not," she answered meekly, and just like he pulled away. It was so fast that Spinelli almost fell forwards, but caught herself in time.

"Nice," Chuck grinned, "but I need to tell you something. "Last year, Brian got caught with his, uh, _mints_ and got screwed over for it. The teachers are keeping an eye on him and on Sunday and I since we hang out with him, and if he gets caught again we're all screwed. So you need to keep this a secret; stay on the teachers' good sides, join some clubs. It's just so they don't expect anything."

"Stay on the teacher's good sides?" Spinelli's voice cracked. Just saying it was near impossible. So she had to hand in assignments on time, get good grades and give them an apple or something?

"You can do it, right?" Chuck was suddenly serious.

"Hey Spinelli!"

Chuck and Spinelli turned their heads at the same time to see TJ waving at them. He was walking his bicycle up to them. Chuck quickly turned back to Spinelli.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he winked as he walked away. "And be good!" He added, sounding humorous. Only Spinelli would know how serious he really was.

"Who's that?" TJ was suddenly by her side, and Spinelli noticed that she had been staring as Chuck walked home. She blushed.

"Chuck," she mumbled as she lifted her eyes up to TJ. He was staring after him, a slight frown on his face.

"Ah, so that's him." TJ said as he bit his lip. Spinelli had a feeling that he hadn't meant to say that out loud, so she ignored it. "So do you like him? I mean as a buddy," TJ quickly added, "not as a… as a…"

Spinelli smirked. "You mean like how you like Bridgette?"

TJ's face reddened. "What does that mean?" he shot back.

A silence followed. It felt unfamiliar, uncomfortable and awkward. TJ stared at his bike handles, and Spinelli hoped that he was thinking about Bridgette, not Chuck. "So, uh… sorry I stormed off at lunch." Spinelli said when she couldn't bare the silence any longer.

TJ forced a laugh. "Oh, I completely forgot about that really. Where'd you end up going?"

Her stomach tightened. There was no way she could tell him. She couldn't tell him where she'd gone, what she'd done. She probably shouldn't even mention Chuck.

"Just walked around," she stammered quickly, "but I gotta head home. Homework to do and stuff."

"Spinelli? Doing homework? My God, it's a miracle!" TJ joked as they started to walk.

"Hey, simmer down would you?" Spinelli smiled with relief – at last things felt comfortable, "Maybe high school is what I needed, a chance to start something new, start over with teachers and a lot of stuff."

"Sounds good, but you'll probably have a lot to catch up on if you want actually improve your grades."

"Find then, Mr. Intense-Grades, what do you suppose I do?"

He stopped walking. They had reached the end of the block. Spinelli would be going left and he would be going right. "Do you want me to help you?" he didn't look at her when he asked.

"Nah, I'll figure it out myself. Besides I probably won't be getting to it until later." Spinelli was about to lift her hand to wave goodbye when he asked another question.

"Do you want me to walk you home?"

She arched her eyebrows in shock before laughing loudly. "What the hell is with you? Are you Mr. Intense-Grades _and_ Mr. Polite or something? Seriously, what happened to my TJ I knew and loved?"

He shuffled his feet. "I'm still here," he replied softly, "but maybe it's what you said; a chance to start something new."

Spinelli laughed again. "Whatever, I'll see you tomorrow TJ." With her usual wave, she turned left and walked away. Her braids were swinging back and forth on her shoulders, her boots were stomping loudly on the cracked sidewalk – it was what TJ saw every day when they walked their separate ways from school, but this day he sighed.

"Bye Spinelli," he said, but she was already so far away that for all he knew she hadn't even heard.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter4

For most people, the first week of school went by slowly. For Spinelli, most of it went by as a blur. Brian had brought in pot and taught her how to smoke a joint. Sunday laughed her head off when Spinelli tried her first drag and ended up coughing and sputtering for almost all of lunch.

She got the hang of it by the next day and was slightly out of it for most of the day. Honestly, Spinelli didn't like it that much for the same reason she didn't like getting drunk. She felt she didn't have any control of herself. She was just so out of it… it didn't feel like she was Spinelli.

But she kept it up, because after Friday she wouldn't need to be with Chuck anymore unless she wanted to smoke with them behind the school. She didn't want to lose him.

"I'm hungry," Mikey said as he, Spinelli, Vince and TJ all walked home on Friday, "Fridays always make me exhausted. Let's go to Kelso's."

"Hey yeah," Vince agreed, "We haven't been there all week. I could definitely use a milkshake and… man, do any of you guys smell that?"

Spinelli felt her whole body tense. Whatever Vince smelled was probably from her. Nonetheless, it sort of relieved her. None of the gang had been suspicious of her doing drugs at school, and it kind of hurt her. It made her feel like they didn't know her well enough to notice.

Of course, she only thought like this when she was high.

"I smell it too," Mikey sniffed loudly, "I've smelled it a lot recently but can't tell what it is. It's really strong today, though."

Spinelli said nothing. All she could do was wonder if the snake slithering up and down Vince's shirt was real or not.

_Right…_ she was really out of it. What had Chuck even given her?

"You don't know what the smell is?" TJ cried loudly, "It's the smell of leaves. Fall is here, that's what it is. Pretty soon the leaves will change color and fall to the ground." Spinelli eyed him carefully.

"Hey, I think you're right," Mikey said as Vince nodded in agreement. TJ grinned at them, but the moment they looked forwards, his grin melted away. He looked sad, almost disappointed. A rock landed in the pit of Spinelli's stomach when she realized something was wrong.

_Could… could it be possible that he knew?_

"So Spinelli," TJ suddenly said, "we missed you at lunch today… again." He added solemnly.

She opened her mouth slowly as she tried to come up with an excuse, but nothing about her seemed to be moving too quickly. It was like she had lost her fire, her wit… it was irritating. Luckily for her, Vince spoke first.

"Yeah, you missed some exciting things today at lunch," Vince said as he grinned wickedly, "Bridgette came and practically sat in TJ's lap today, begging him to have lunch with her."

"Shut up guys," TJ mumbled, obviously not where he had wanted to go with the topic.

"We're only telling the truth," Mikey replied, "like how Bridgette kissed you before leaving."

"She did _NOT!_"

"Find, so we exaggerated," Vince shrugged, "but she was pretty damn close. I'm surprised you didn't just let her with all the flirting you two were doing."

"We weren't flirting," TJ tried to shake it off, but with the amount of blushing he was doing Spinelli could tell that he had. He was always flirting with girls, she had just gotten used to it and she thought everyone else had.

"What's the big deal?" finally Spinelli was able to move her mouth. TJ beamed at her. "I mean he'll flirt with any girl who's hot and brainless."

Wait, that didn't sound right…

TJ stopped walking. "What the hell does that mean?"

Spinelli suddenly wished she still couldn't talk, but now that she could she couldn't stop. "You've been doing it for years, so it's nothing to make a big deal out of."

TJ's mouth dropped and he looked as if he had just been slapped. "Are you kidding me?"

Vince tired to brush the whole thing away with a wave of his hand. "Look man, we're only kidding. We'll stop it with you and Bridgette."

"Yeah, you could have just asked us," Mikey told him softly as he shuffled his big feet, "you know we didn't mean it."

Spinelli went along with it. "Nothing to make a big deal out of, TJ."

Slamming his mouth shut, TJ glowered, glowered at Spinelli. "Nothing to make a big deal out of, huh?" He said flatly as he stared darkly at Spinelli. Without another word, he turned sharply on his heel and began walking the other way.

"What's eatin' him?" Mikey asked.

Spinelli shrugged. "I'm out, guys." She said as she began walking back to the school.

"But what about Kelso's?" whimpered Mikey, sounding like the friendly giant he was.

"I'm still going to Kelso's." Vince said as he watched his two friends storm off. He knew something was going on, but he didn't care enough to look into it. Especially not when his stomach was grumbling like it was.

-

-

-

"Hey, you're still here." Spinelli approached Chuck who was picking up litter at the front of school, "Is this also for extra credit?" she asked.

"Yup, Ms. McGraw asked if I would and I couldn't say no."

"I'm sure you could of," Spinelli tried, "I mean it's a Friday, she would have understood…"

Chuck stood up, his face serious again. "Now Spinelli," he lowered his voice, "you know the rules. We got caught once and we can't let it happen again." He waited for her response.

"Do you want help?" she asked slowly, hoping she was right. She knew she was when he grinned at her.

"That's my girl," he patted her shoulder and passed her a garbage bag.

_That's my girl_, Spinelli repeated the words in her head, _could that mean…?!_ She might as well try.

"Hey Chuck," asked Spinelli, "maybe after this we can, I dunno, hang out or something. You want to see a movie or –"

His laugh cut her off. "A movie, Spin? Really, is that how you spend your weekends?"

She glared at him, "Well obviously that's not all. I mean I'll go to parties and stuff but I don't really –"

"Don't really what?" he cut her off again.

What could she say? That she didn't like parties because she didn't drink? "But I haven't heard of anyone having one this weekend," she finished as a lie.

Chuck let one of eyelids cover a dark eye as he winked at her. "Aren't you lucky you met me, then?" he laughed, "There's a party tonight at Lawson's. Do you know him?"

Spinelli couldn't help but laugh. "Lawson!" she cried, "Do I ever." He had gone to a different high school and she had forgotten about him until now.

"So are you coming? Brian and Sunday will be there as well so you won't be alone."

"Alone?" Spinelli asked, "But won't you be there?"

"At Lawson's, oh of course, I just meant… well I don't know what I meant. The joint's still got me I guess." He paused as he took a step closer. "But I wouldn't miss it for the world, not with you there." Bending down so that his face was not even a centimeter away from hers, Spinelli thought for sure that he was going to kiss her. But after a moment he pulled away.

"So, you coming or what?"

-

-

-

"Oh Pookie, you just missed Gretchen." Spinelli's mom called loudly to her the moment she walked into her house. She cringed at the nickname her parents had been calling her since, well, birth.

"Should I call her back?" her mom asked as she started pushing the buttons on the phone, "Something about seeing a movie tonight."

"No mom!" Spinelli said quickly as she leaped and snatched the phone out of her hands. "I have plans tonight already."

Her mom made a face, first at Spinelli and then at the phone in her daughter's hands. "Plans with… who?"

"Gretchen," Spinelli lied, "and everyone. I guess Gretchen just forgot about the party we were planning to go to tonight. I'll talk to her on MSN though."

Her mom smiled. "Sound like fun Pookie, just tell me when you're leaving."

"Of course." Spinelli said hurriedly as she dropped the phone and began jumping up the stairs to her room.

_So gullible,_ she thought darkly, _oh, so gullible._

**_A/N_ Oh dear, what is happening to our Spinelli?! Well you'll have to keep reading to find out. I'll update soon :)**

**One thing, someone asked _Why Spinelli hasn't changed_? Sorry to say I don't really know what you mean so if you would like an answer I need you to clarify it the question. **

**Thanks so much for the review. x0**

**Vintage88**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter5

Spinelli missed her oversized army boots. The damn flats she had decided to wear with rubbing against her heels so much that she had already gotten blisters just by walking from her house to Lawson's. She also missed her lucky jacket as she wasn't feeling so lucky anymore. It was cold outside!

Her hair was still in its regular, messy braids, but tonight she was wearing something different. She wore a pair of black torn jeans and an over oversized t-shirt with a picture of Jimi Hendrix on it. When getting ready, Spinelli had even tried to put on eyeliner, but decided it was too much. (In actual fact, her eyelashes were so dark and thick anyways that she didn't need to wear eyeliner)

It felt unbelievably lonely walking by herself in the dark. As she began to wonder what the gang was doing at the moment, she couldn't help but wish TJ was there with her. He'd be able to say something to make her laugh and stop feeling so uncomfortable and… oh right.

Weren't they kind of in a fight?

Spinelli had never gotten TJ mad at her before, but he must have been. What he said, the way he looked at her… he must have known what she was doing. Her chest ached at the thought of being in a fight with TJ, one of her oldest and best friends. She almost turned around to go and find him until she reached Lawson's. Spinelli stopped walking, deciding what she should do.

"Hey Spin," the low, slow voice of Brian came from behind her, "that you?"

"Hey man," Spinelli smiled as she looked up at him. She had purposely arrived late for the party because there was no way she wanted to be at Lawson's when Chuck wasn't there. Maybe Brian had thought the same way too…

"You just get here?" he asked.

"Yeah," she answered, "you know if Chuck is here yet?"

"I dunno dawg, just got here myself." He began walking towards the house where loud music could be heard inside. Spinelli hesitated at first before following Brian. He opened the door and together they walked inside.

The music was even louder than Spinelli had expected. The smell of drinks and pot was overpowering, making Spinelli gag at first. People were walking around, carrying drinks or smoking a joint, or making out with someone. It wasn't that this was new to Spinelli, but the whole situation just felt different standing there alone. If Chuck hadn't appeared at her side, Spinelli may have just stood there for hours, overwhelmed with the scene.

"Hey babe!" he yelled over the music as he wrapped his arm around her tiny waist, "I was worried you'd quite on us."

"Quite on you? Never." Spinelli smiled, feeling the warmth from Chuck's body move to her. He stumbled slightly, either drunk or high, or both, but Spinelli didn't care. She could hardly take her eyes off Chuck as he led further into the house. He was just so gorgeous.

"Here," out of nowhere Chuck passed her a drink. She didn't hesitate and took a large gulp. Whatever it was burned her throat and the familiar, disgusting taste of alcohol filled her stomach. Nonetheless, she took another gulp. For Chuck.

"Good, huh." He told her, "Well there's loads more where it came from."

Chuck collapsed on a couch next to Brian. "Brian, my man!" he yelled, "Hook me up baby, hook me up."

Brian nodded slowly and pulled out a joint from his oversized sweater. Chuck pulled out his lighter and eagerly lit the joint, taking a long drag. Spinelli took another sip of whatever she was drinking, hoping she didn't look too awkward standing there. To her relief, Brian passed her a joint and she tried to look just as keen to see it, lighting it quickly like Chuck had.

The familiar smile spread slowly across her face as she took a drag, already feeling calmer. Ditching her drink on the table, she squished herself between Brian and Chuck. Chuck put his arm around her and she snuggled closer to him, being exactly where she wanted to be.

Sunday walked past them, her eyes red and her cheeks hollow. Spinelli watched her eye her and Chuck sitting so close on the couch and knew she envied them. Without noticing, Spinelli spoke. "That girl needs to eat."

"You mean Sunday?" Chuck asked groggily, "Damn that chick is hot."

Spinelli stiffened, feeling a ping of irritation. She looked away from Chuck for a moment and realized that Brian had left. They were the only two on the couch and yet they were sitting unbelievably close.

"She's hot," Chuck said again, "but damn, not as hot and funky as you Spin."

Spinelli grinned and turned back to him. "What?" she was about to ask, but had no time. Chucks lips were suddenly on hers and his tongue was in her mouth. Filled with excitement, Spinelli kissed him back hungrily as a million things spun through her head.

_Does this mean he likes me? Is Sunday watching us? Is everyone watching us? Am I good kisser? Where'd my joint go?_

Chuck suddenly leaned closer to Spinelli, his body weight pushing her down onto the couch. At first she found it hard to breathe having him across her stomach, but soon she realized that wasn't what she should be worrying about. His hands were inching up her shirt until his fingers were at the edge of her bra.

She pulled away from him. "Chuck." She said quickly as she tried to sit up, pulling her shirt back down.

"Mmm?" he stopped, lifting his head up and looking about as if he were about to cry for being stopped. "Don't you like it?" he slurred, "Everyone else did…"

"Oh, I do, I do just…" her stomach turned into a knot as she tried to come up with an excuse as to why she didn't want to go and further.

"Oh I get it," Chuck sat up, "not here in the open. Got it got it meet me upstairs." He stumbled away, practically crawling up the stairs.

"Chuck, no!" she called after him, but either the music was too loud or he was too out of it to hear her.

Suddenly someone laughed, no, chuckled at her. "Well, well, well, I had heard rumors that you were here."

Spinelli recognized the voice before her eyes could even focus on the person standing in front of her.

"Lawson." She tried to glare at him, but her whole body felt so light that she couldn't get her face to work properly.

He laughed again and sat down next to her on the couch. "I thought you were better than this." His breath smelled heavily of booze and Spinelli had to turn away from him.

"What are you talking about?" she hated Lawson, she really did and wished that she could just get up from the couch to find –

"Chuck. I'm talking about Chuck." Lawson grinned wickedly. He hadn't changed since Spinelli had last seen him. Maybe he was taller, but his shag was still reddish-brown and greasy and his nose was still turned up slightly, just like the pig he was.

"You're under the Chuck Curse," he explained, "you'll do anything he says. Just like that girl… whats-her-name… the one who doesn't eat?"

"Sunday?" she felt jealousy rise just by saying her name.

"That's it, Sunday. And before that was Rebecca –"

"Who the hell is Rebecca?" Spinelli snapped, not sure she really wanted to know where Lawson was going with this.

"Just another one of his many girls," Lawson sat up, "Let me try to explain this to you. Chuck picks a girl, casts his spell on her, gets her addicted to drugs, hooks-up with them and then throws them to the side."

"Shut up," Spinelli spat at him.

"Just telling you the truth." Lawson's face flashed deviously, "Just ask any of the girls here. It's the way Chuck is and it's the way Chuck will always be. Why else do you think he invited you here?"

Spinelli didn't answer. She clenched her jaws and made her hands into fists. Eyes narrowed, she tried to control herself from punching his snide, narrow face.

Lawson's mouth suddenly dropped open. "No way! You really are stupid. You actually thought… I can't believe it… you actually thought Chuck liked you? You thought Chuck liked _you?"_

_Screw this_, Spinelli thought, and with that let herself loose. Her arm snapped out from her side and her fist landed in Lawson's face. Without waiting to see the damage, she got up from the couch and stormed up the stairs to where Chuck was waiting for her.

"Chuck?" she called, lowering her voice. The music was downstairs, so upstairs felt eerily silent. "Chuck, you still here?"

Down the hallway, a door was slightly ajar and relief washed over Spinelli. _He's still here, he waited for me. Chuck does like me. He'll understand, he'll understand that I don't want to go any further –_

There was suddenly a grunt from behind the door and just like that, Spinelli felt awfully cold. She didn't want to, but she had to know… taking a deep, she opened the door slightly.

The room flipped upside down; everything was spinning. She couldn't breathe as she stumbled down the stairs. Everything was suddenly too loud – she had to get out of there. Spinelli burst through the front door, tripping over her feet and falling face first on the lawn.

The grass was wet, but Spinelli couldn't move. She was frozen as the vision replayed over and over in her head. The vision of Chuck tangled up with someone else.

Tangled up with Sunday.

-

-

-

_Friday._

_TJPrankster3 – Spinelli? _

_TJPrankster3 – where'd you go tonight?_

_TJPrankster3 - …… _

_TJPrankster3 – everyone's __sorta__ pissed…_

_-_

_-_

_Saturday._

_TJPrankster3 – hey, you there? _

_TJPrankster3 – well… I'm not pissed. Just tell me __wat__ happened_

_TJPrankster3 – please?_

_-_

_-_

_Sunday._

_TJPrankster3 – I tried to call you, __ur__ mom said you were sick_

_TJPrankster3 – everything ok?_

_TJPrankster3 – the gang's not so pissed anymore… just talk to them…_

_TJPrankster3 – come on __spinelli, __respond __wud__ u?_

_TJPrankster3 – ...where __hav__ you gone? _

**_A/N - just a question. Do you think I should raise the rating on this? if you do, please tell! Thanks :)_**

**_Vintage88_**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter6

Spinelli's mom wouldn't let her miss a day of school.

"If you don't have a temperature than you're not sick!"

That was her mom's slogan as to whether or not she was sick enough to miss school. Spinelli may not have actually been sick, but she definitely didn't feel very good. Visions of the party replayed over and over in her mind and Lawson's voice kept echoing between her ears. For the rest of the weekend she had shut herself in her room, only getting up for food.

_Maybe I'm depressed_, the thought had hit Spinelli a couple times but she didn't know what to do to prove if she was actually depressed or not.

Therefore, Spinelli was sent to school.

"Pookie!" her mom called up to her, "Pookie, you're awfully late. You best get going."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Spinelli grumbled as she dragged herself downstairs, "I'm coming."

"Should I get your father to drive you to school?" her mom asked frantically.

"No, I'll run there." Spinelli slammed the front door before her mom could protest. However, she didn't run. She didn't even do a brisk walk. Spinelli had no intention of getting to school on time. She couldn't stand having to face anyone – not Chuck, not the gang, especially not Sunday…

The school bell rang just as Spinelli approached the school. The front yard of the school was empty, or at least that's what she thought at first. She soon realized though that three figures were sitting on the school steps. As much as Spinelli wanted to back away, she knew she had seen them. Taking a deep breath, she approached them.

"Hey guys," she said, voice raspy as she nervously clutched her backpack straps, "sorry about Friday. I dunno if my mom told you but I was really sick –"

"Oh, cut with the crap Spinelli." Vince cut her off.

Gus nodded. "We know where you were on Friday. And I have a pretty good guess that on Saturday and Sunday you were recovering from your hangover."

Her throat went dry and the edges of Spinelli's eyes started to sting. "Come on, you know I hardly drink… how did you…"

"How did we know you were at Lawson's?" Gretchen finished for her, her eyes narrowed behind her glasses, "Well the three of us including Mikey and TJ each got a lovely email from Lawson saying how you had ditched us to go to his party."

"Not to mention the whole school is talking about how he got beat up at his own party," Gus added, "by a girl!"

"Gee, now why does that sound so familiar?" Vince added flatly.

Spinelli felt like she was choking on the three pairs of eyes glaring at her. "Where's Mikey and TJ?" she coughed up at last, not sure what else she could say.

"In class," Gus shrugged, "they didn't feel like waiting up for you."

"God, what horrible friends," Gretchen said sarcastically as she arched one eyebrow. Vince sniggered.

"Come one guys, stop doing this!" Spinelli cried, "I'm sorry, I really am. I just… I just wanted to go and I didn't think you'd make such a big deal out of this."

"What, you mean you didn't expect us to care that you lied to us," Vince snapped, "and then ignored us for the rest of the weekend?"

"Spinelli, you could have just told us where you were going," Gus's face softened for a second, but only just, "Even if it was Lawson's party…" he added bitterly.

Gretchen sighed as she took off her glasses to wipe them with the edge of her t-shirt. Perhaps she was doing that so she wouldn't have to look at Spinelli as she spoke. "Look, normally we wouldn't be mad at you Spinelli, but we are because… well, because you're not Spinelli!" she said quickly.

"What the hell are you talking about?" scowled Spinelli.

"Did you think we just wouldn't notice you weren't eating with us at lunch?" Vince asked.

"So, what?" Spinelli spat, "I'm not allowed to make new friends?"

"You know that's not where this is going." Gus rolled his eyes in disbelief. "You're allowed to make new friends, obviously, but we didn't think you would just forget about us."

She couldn't take it anymore. Shoving herself between Gus and Gretchen, Spinelli lunged for the door. Running down the halls, she prayed that they weren't chasing after her. But when she realized they weren't, Spinelli was surprised to feel that it hurt her. Out of breath, she burst into her math classroom.

"Spinelli?" the nasal voice of Mr. Duffy filled her ears, "Do you realize you are late?"

Spinelli stood up straight, feeling the class's eyes on her. Ignoring them, she looked right at Mr. Duffy and his round, shiny head. He had a huge nose with more hair on his upper lip than on the top of his head. He was a skinny, goofy math teacher, but Spinelli would rather be talking to him than anyone in the gang.

If she was even welcomed in the gang anymore…

"Sorry Mr. Duffy," she gasped for air and she walked to her seat, "I slept through my alarm."

Mr. Duffy just smiled. "Oh, that's alright Spinelli, happens to all of us. Before you sit down could you please hand in your homework?"

The whole room suddenly felt like ice. She guessed that Mr. Duffy could read her expression because she didn't have to say anything before he _tsk_ed. "Not finished, huh?"

"I'm sorry Mr. Duffy," she gasped, "I just forgot –"

"Enough Ms. Spinelli," he cut her off, "you'll have to go to detention after school today."

It felt like a thousand pound weight was pushing down on Spinelli, forcing her into her chair. The whole room hardly paid attention to her – so she had forgotten her homework? Who cared?

But one person did though, and Spinelli could feel Sunday's large, grey eyes on her in shock and anger.

Uh-oh…

-

-

-

No one else had gotten detention that day. Spinelli sat alone in the room, sitting directly in front of some overweight teacher she didn't know the name off.

"I'm going to get a snack," he said gruffly, "not for you because you don't deserve, but for me because I have to sit here for another forty-five minutes since _you_ got in trouble. Don't you dare move."

"I won't." Spinelli sighed as she was suddenly alone in the large room. She didn't know how long she was sitting there in silence, head in her hands, before someone walked in.

"Hey," he said quietly.

For a brief moment, Spinelli hoped it was TJ. But then she saw Chuck standing in the doorway and just like that, she forgot about TJ. She smiled at him, glad she wasn't alone any longer. God, he looked amazing…

"Hey you," she whispered as she was about to stand up and greet him.

"Don't get up," he quickly said, "you don't want to get in anymore trouble." It was here that Spinelli realized something was very wrong.

This followed by a long, heavy silence. She almost wished that Mr. Fat-Detention-Man would show up so Chuck could leave and stop staring at her with his black eyes.

Shaking his blonde shag, Chuck sighed. "Sunday told me you had gotten a detention. At first I didn't believe her, but I decided to see for myself." He paused. "I guess she was right."

"Can you believe it?" Spinelli rolled her eyes, "A detention because I forgot to do my homework." She let out laugh, but immediately stopped when she realized Chuck was joining in.

After another long moment, he said quietly, "You know what this means, right?"

Spinelli frowned. "I don't, actually…"

He took slow steps further into the room until he was a desk space away from her. "This is going to make me sound like a bastard," he said, "but we… Sunday, Brian and me… we can't be seen with you anymore."

Her mouth dropped. "Your… y-you have to… a-a-are you kidding me?"

"Look Spin, I don't want to leave you. It really hurts to have to walk away, but if you're not doing your work and are hanging with us, they'll be wondering what you're up do. The teachers will get suspicious."

"So… so you're leaving me… leaving me for your drugs?" Spinelli choked on the words, her throat painfully tight. What was happening?

Chuck just stared at her, an apologetic look on his angelic face. It hurt Spinelli to look at him.

"I only forgot my homework once." She whispered.

Chuck shrugged. "Hey, that's all they need as an excuse."

"But what about… what about at the party when w-we kissed? D-didn't that mean anything? Didn't that mean anything to you?"

Chuck arched an eyebrow at her. "We kissed?" he made it sound as though he thought she was making it up. He took a step backwards.

Spinelli couldn't look at him anymore. Her whole world was collapsing, falling around and on top of her. It hurt her chest to breath and she wished Chuck would just hurry up at leave the room.

"You were right," she said, her voice cracked and heavy, "you are a bastard." Chuck made no signal that he had heard her as he continued walking backwards out of the room. Usually Spinelli would have said it again, but at the moment she had no energy.

The moment he was finally gone, she lightly placed her head in her hands again. As she blinked, a tear appeared at the corner of her eye. She didn't brush it away, but instead let it roll down her cheek and underneath her chin.

Never in her life had Spinelli felt more alone.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter7

Mr. Fat-Detention-Man stared at Spinelli with his beady eyes as he ate his snack. To Spinelli, it seemed like it was more of a meal, made up of a bagel, chocolate milk, muffin, jellybeans and a pear which only ended up with one bite out of it.

Her face sticky, Spinelli turned to look out the window. The longer she stared, the more she realized that there was a person waiting for her and that the person was none other than TJ. Her heart skipped a beat as she began to wonder if he was waiting for her.

_Maybe he'll forgive me,_ she thought hopefully, _maybe things will go back to the way they were and we can forget about everything I've screwed up –_

"Are you getting any of this?"

Spinelli snapped her head back to the teacher. "Sorry?" she spoke quietly, not sure if he had actually spoken or not. He looked at her for a moment before frowning with a sigh.

"I said," he said, exasperated, "that I'm going to let you out early because I'm in a generous mood."

_Are you really, or have you just run out of food?_

He gave Spinelli another look. "Well come on," he snapped, "Get out of here!"

Not needing to be told twice, Spinelli scooped up her school supplies and made a dash for the door in case Mr. Fat-Detention-Man's _generous_ mood vanished. Stumbling down the empty hallways, Spinelli crashed through the front of the school door, grinning with excitement to talk to TJ. When she caught sight of him though, her smile slid right off her face.

He wasn't alone. Standing awfully close to him, laughing and smiling with him, was a beautiful brunette; The same brunette that TJ had followed out of the gym like a dog on the first day of high school; Bridgette.

Spinelli's whole body went weak as she realized the truth; TJ hadn't been waiting for her. He had just been flirting with Bridgette, the girl that hadn't fucked up their friendship, the girl he really cared about. Feeling her throat tightening just like it had in the detention room, Spinelli slipped back into the school. There was no way she could just walk past the two of them.

Instead, she left out through the backdoor. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Chuck, Brian and Sunday, each handing some cash over to someone she had never seen before. _Probably a drug dealer_. No one paid any attention to her as she rushed by, no one but Sunday, of course... She whipped her head in Spinelli's direction and smirked at her as her silver hair cascaded down her too-skinny shoulders. Grey eyes flashing, she turned back to the dealer as she draped her thin arm over Chuck's shoulders.

Spinelli felt like she was going to vomit and burst into a sprint, running out through the back gate of the school. How the hell had things gotten like this? Why had she been so stupid to screw everything up just for a guy? Just for a guy who cared more about his drugs then he did about her?

Perhaps Spinelli had been running with her eyes closed, or maybe she was just so out of it that she didn't bother paying attention… maybe a little bit of both or something else. Whatever it was made Spinelli end up on her back, rubbing her head as she lay on the cool concrete.

What had she run into?

"Oh, it's you."

She would have recognized that voice anywhere. Not being able to control the smile on her face, she sat up. "Mikey," she barely whispered.

He stared down at her, his messy blonde hair falling in his eyes. "Well, if you're okay then I'm going to be –"

"No, Mikey please," Spinelli choked, "don't go… H-how are things?"

Looking uncomfortable in the situation he was in, Mikey shuffled his feet. "I don't know if I can talk to you," he said gloomily, sounding like he was a little kid again.

She chuckled. "What, can't you think for yourself?"

Mikey placed his backpack on the sidewalk as he took a seat next to Spinelli. Putting his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands, he said, "I just don't want to get the rest of the gang angry at me. I don't want to end up…" he faded.

"End up like me?" Spinelli finished for him. After a moment, Mikey nodded ever so slightly, looking embarrassed. She shrugged, "I don't blame you." Pause. "So… are you mad at me Mikey?"

He sat up. "Spinelli," he said seriously, "I could never be mad at you. Sure maybe frustrated, or at a time like this, just disappointed, but never mad at you. It really hurt Spinelli, finding out that you lied to us, but not enough to never get over it."

Spinelli felt her whole body warm up, listening to Mikey's voice. "So you're not mad at me," she said slowly, "but I know everyone else is. Do you think… do you think they'll ever get over it?"

"Gretchen, Vince and Gus, yeah they were pretty mad and hurt by your decisions. But they're you're best friends, I'm sure they'll forgive you."

"Mikey?" Spinelli asked, almost afraid to hear the answer, "What about TJ? He is… is he really, really mad at me then? I guess he must be –"

Deep in thought, Mikey looked up to the skies. "TJ," he carefully spoke at last, "was hurt in a different way, I guess you could say. I think he was sort of confused."

Staring at the road, Spinelli nodded, waiting for Mikey to continue.

Only he didn't.

"Wait, I don't get it." She admitted, "What's there to be confused about?"

Mikey looked at Spinelli, smiling warmly as though he was trying not to give away a secret. "Oh Spinelli," he laughed quietly, "such a tiny seed you are, lost and confused, but soon you will blossom, maturing into a wise, elegant tree."

Spinelli shook her head in disbelief. So now she was a seed? As much as she didn't understand Mikey's metaphors, she had grown up with them her whole life and had gotten use to them. It was a relief to hear them again after a week. Mikey chuckled again, aware of how confused she was.

"But," he said with a knowing smile on his lips, "if you really want to understand things, I suggest you go and talk to TJ yourself."

"Really?" Spinelli looked at him.

"Really."

Talking to TJ was what she really wanted to do, but the thought of approaching him and Bridgette terrified her. Nonetheless, Spinelli stood up after Mikey. Without warning, she hugged him.

"Thanks man," she said, meaning every word.

"You know I'm always there for you Spinelli."

With her usual shine rising in her eye at last, Spinelli waved goodbye to Mikey. Maybe if she were lucky, TJ would still be talking to Bridgette outside of the school. Okay, so maybe she would have to interrupt their conversation, and even though the thought of it knotted Spinelli's stomach, she continued her brisk walk.

Besides, after what she had made the gang feel, she probably deserved to feel a little terrified.

-

-

-

He watched as they began walking slowly of the school grounds, goofy smiles on all three of their faces. Hesitantly, TJ walked towards them with one particular in mind. Reaching out, he grabbed onto one of their arms.

"Chuck," he said seriously.

Chuck froze, staring at the hand on his arm in confusion. "Now whose hand is that?" he asked before bursting into a fit of giggles. A girl with silver hair joined him. The other tall boy just seemed completely out of it.

"Chuck," TJ snapped again, "where's Spinelli?"

"Spinelli?" the girl frowned, "We don't know any Spinelli's, do we Chuck?"

TJ frowned. "What the hell are you talking about? Where's Spinelli?"

"Now, now, now, everybody calm down." Chuck spoke slowly. He raised his hands as if silencing a crowd. "Are you talking about Spin, because yes, we did know a Spin?"

"Spin?" TJ winced at the name. Since when did she go by _Spin_?

"Yes, Spin," the girl stumbled slightly, "but we don't know her anymore. We are not on talking terms with her anymore… does anyone else hear the chirpy snake music?"

Not sure what chirpy snake music was, TJ ignored her. "How can you just not know Spinelli…I mean _Spin_ anymore? Don't you… don't you hang out with her?"

He waited for Chuck to respond. His unbelievably dark brown eyes were shifting back and forth slowly as if he were thinking about what to say. Without warning, he clutched his stomach and burst into yet another fit of high pitched giggles.

TJ snapped. "Hey," he roared, "I was talking to you!"

"Oh right, about Spin." Chuck narrowed his eyes before a slow smile spread across his face. "Damn, that bitch is hot."

The next thing Chuck knew, he was lying on the ground, looking up at the sky. His jaw, no, his whole face stung. "I'm confused," he said gradually, "how did I get down here?"

Brian finally spoke. His laugh seemed to be in slow motion. "Damn Chuck, you just got smoked in the face and didn't even try to fight back… you idiot."

_**A/N**_** – so the next chapter is the last! I hope you enjoyed the story and thanks so, so, SO much for all the review. I love knowing that people are reading my work AND like it. Get ready for the last chapter!!! R&R**

**x0**

**Vintage88**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter8

Chuck caught Spinelli's eye as she walked onto school grounds. Usually it would be because she thought he was so hot, but not anymore. She had gotten over that. The only reason why she looked at him was because he was on the ground, his mouth slightly redder than it should have been around the edges.

She only glanced at him for a second though before seeing TJ scratching his head. The best part was that he was alone… no Bridgette!

"TJ!" she said breathlessly as she approached him. He didn't respond as well as she had thought he would. At first he looked relieved to see her, but then his face hardened without a word. Slightly caught off guard, Spinelli had to drop her eyes, catching sight of TJ's right hand, looking slightly swollen.

"What happened?" she gasped before she could stop herself.

Glancing down at his own hand, TJ couldn't help but grin. "I uh… I punched Chuck over there. I now know why you do it so often with people you're pissed at." Spinelli stared at him in shock, not sure what to say. "I just mean…" TJ added quickly, "well, I didn't mean that… he was just being an idiot." He finished.

"He wasn't the only one," mumbled Spinelli, awkwardly scratching her head. As much as she just wanted to run away, she sucked in a breath, knowing she couldn't stop there. "TJ I'm so, so sorry. I was being stupid."

"You weren't thinking - that's what you were doing." TJ said sternly, "I couldn't believe you had sunk so low Spinelli, it was… it was so, so stupid of you."

Spinelli bit her bottom lip. "Ouch," she couldn't help saying, "I guess I deserved that."

"But even more," he continued, "it was scary, terrifying actually. I don't know if you know this, but I saw you with Chuck and what's-their-names behind the school."

"I had a feeling you did," Spinelli laughed awkwardly, "So I'm guessing you told everyone else, huh?"

TJ hesitated. "Actually, I didn't think anyone needed to know, really."

"Thanks TJ," she said gratefully as she looked up at him through her long eyelashes.

"Don't think I'm letting you off so easily," he quickly said, but with a faint smile playing with his lips, "drugs are addicting. I'm going to need to keep an eye on you, just to make sure."

"Look, you need to trust me on this one. Believe it or not, getting high was just like getting drunk for me – I didn't like it, but I did it anyways for… for some guy. At least I know what a jerk he is now." Spinelli smiled lightly at him, "But I don't mind you keeping an eye on me."

For a brief second, TJ looked as if he thought he hadn't heard Spinelli correctly. Shaking his head slightly, he stood there, speechless.

"So, how are you and Bridgette?" Spinelli asked, trying to sound playful when really it pained her. TJ rolled his eyes, looking like he was going to be sick at the mention of this.

"Why," he cried, "does everyone think I like her? I mean Bridgette is…"

"Hot?" she filled in for him.

"Erm… well, yeah she is. But Bridgette is also pretty clueless on a lot of levels. This will make me sound horrible, but she's funny because she's so stupid! I mean she's not smart or witty or spunky. Her personality is the exact opposite of you I think."

"Oh." It was all Spinelli could say, because for reason she felt herself blushing. Not wanting to talk about Bridgette any longer, she asked quietly, "I talked to Mikey, but do you think Gretchen, Vince and Gus will ever forgive me?"

"Of course they will." TJ said reassuringly, "They probably will on their own, but I'll make sure they do if they're taking too long."

Spinelli grinned as she bit her bottom lip again. "Thanks."

TJ nodded. "So…" he said, glancing around. Chuck was still on the ground. Brian had disappeared, but Sunday was still with him, whining for him to get up. "What do you want to do?" he asked as he turned away from them.

Feeling her grin widening, Spinelli asked softly, "Do you want to walk me home?"

At last –_ at last! –_ TJ grinned. "Yeah, actually," he nodded enthusiastically, "I do."

So they did. Spinelli didn't remember being in such high spirits. She had realized what a jerk Chuck was, one by one the gang was slowly starting to forgive her, and TJ was walking her home! Maybe if she felt really lucky she might even reach out and hold his hand…

But for the time being, she was completely happy with TJ walking next to her.

_The End._

_**A/N**_** – And so you have it, the end of ****Ridiculously, Head Over Heels.**** It was just a short and (hopefully!) sweet read. Thanks so much for all the comments guys. Hope you like this fanfic as much as I did. I'll be writing a new story sometime soon probably, but for the time being, R&R!!**

**x0**

**Vintage88**


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